questions about aftermarket air intake

[iboss429]

how does a high flow air intake effect gas mileage

how come high flow air intakes like the ones made by K&N arent offerd from the factory

and how easy is it to install

if you have installed them how much has the air intake improved the Performance of your vehicle

 

[fbc]

Re: questions about aftermarket air intake

how does a high flow air intake effect gas mileage

It can make the motor run more efficiently, so you use less fuel (unless you go around flooring the car to try and feel the slight power gain )

how come high flow air intakes like the ones made by K&N arent offerd from the factory

Probably a mix of cost and noise issues - the factory will play it safe and keep the car as quiet as possible, some high flow air intakes can be noiser than the stock ones

and how easy is it to install

I've never done it, but most seem to be a simple bolt-on replacement

 

[jayjaya29]

I want to do it to my Dad's Honda Accord V6, it seems like its a simple remove old airbox and tubing and bolt on new pieces. Thats it, its suppost to give you a more deeper and louder sound as well as adding a few extra horsepower. You will most likely not feel the horsepower at all, but you should get better MPG. So I think its a very cost effective upgrade.

 

[flyingfridge]

I put a cold air intake and a K&N air filter on my VL Commodore which runs a 3.0 Litre version of Nissan's famous RB series inline 6. It didn't turn the car into a rocket ship but the engine noticeably breathed better and seemed to be more willing, especially in the higher rev range.

 

[Ultra_Kool_Dude]

My buddy put in an intake for about $400 on his Acura TL and it seemed quite a bit faster. I think he had it tested at 270hp before and 300hp after (I'm not certain though).

The noise it makes now is just great though.

 

[bassheadjazzVR6]

Depends on which intake you run. We'll use my motor (VW 12v VR6) for example. If you run a short ram intake, one that has the exposed filter inside the engine bay, you could do more harm than good. The amount of heat will soak up into the filter. No performance gains there. But if you run a full cold air, meaning the filter sits infront of the wheel well, you'll actually get cold air, into the intake mani, but you run the risk of hydrolock if you hit a big puddle. And then theres the gas milage, which mine actually got worse. At first, because that noise is astounding under heavy throttle. But then, since my car is an auto, you have to use more throttle to accelerate, thus, more mpg suffering...

Theres more to it, but im tired of typing, lol. Its 3AM where I am...

 

[iboss429]

Depends on which intake you run. We'll use my motor (VW 12v VR6) for example. If you run a short ram intake, one that has the exposed filter inside the engine bay, you could do more harm than good. The amount of heat will soak up into the filter. No performance gains there. But if you run a full cold air, meaning the filter sits infront of the wheel well, you'll actually get cold air, into the intake mani, but you run the risk of hydrolock if you hit a big puddle.

http://www.kandn.com/instructions/63-1111.pdf in the pic on the far right is the filter far enough in front of the wheel well to be called a cold air intank and how do u prevent hydrolock?

 

[patrick10]

its easy as hell to put an intake in. i got one iin my car and you can barely notice a power gain but fuel economy does go up. aem makes a spikey little thing that filters all the water out if your concerned with hydrolock. honestly the least i would ever do to my car is a k&n drop in filter. every car at my house has a k&n but mine is insanly huge.

that intake there is just a short ram intake. cold air intakes tend to be a lot more for like no difference. in some cases, there is a reduce in power due to the amount of bends. you wont need to worry about hydrolock with that intake.

if you have a maruder, i would put a short ram on it bc it will improve the sound of the sexy 4.6...

 

[bone]

Re: questions about aftermarket air intake

how does a high flow air intake effect gas mileage

It can make the motor run more efficiently, so you use less fuel (unless you go around flooring the car to try and feel the slight power gain )

better airfilter = more air = more fuell needed = less mileage.
everyone i know who installed an aftermarket airfilter saw his mileage decrease by a little bit (the difference won't bancrupt you )

and how easy is it to install

easiest thing ever, unplugg the ugly box, insert the nice looking cone, tighten the screws and you're done (granted it's an injection, otherways you might have to rejet your carbs for the reasons i just pointed to)


you won't feel much difference though, it's great to hear the rumble if you floor it, but if you get 10hp more, you may call yourself a very happy man.

you do indeed have to make sure you don't suck up to much hot air, but most stock airboxes have a hose running from them to somewhere behind the bumper. leave this hose as it will conduct cold air to your filter.

 

[patrick10]

Re: questions about aftermarket air intake

better airfilter = more air = more fuell needed = less mileage.
everyone i know who installed an aftermarket airfilter saw his mileage decrease by a little bit (the difference won't bancrupt you )

you got it wrong... better filter = more air = less gas required to fire. the more oxygen you have the better the detonation will be so there fore under normal driving you should notice an increase in fuel economy.

 

[bone]

but if you have more oxygen, you have to add more fuell, or you'll get a lean condition

?

 

[Z Draci]

I've seen a lot of arguements for and against these things. The consensus is that it depends on the car. If the original factory intake design is good, the cold air intake bolt on will not make a big difference. If the factory design was bad, then getting the bolt on will make a difference.

I'd personally have gone either way (on a 240SX). I didn't notice much difference except for the added noise that attracts police. I took it off and got a simple K&N replacement filter. It basically did the same thing without the noise. I think people over-analyze these cold air intake mods. Without extra porting and fuel delivery, it won't add THAT much power by increasing just the airflow into the restrictive intake piping.

I know that Nismo filters are similar to or exactly the same as K&N filters. Their drop in filters are the same dimensions as your existing paper air filter so its a direct replacement. Even though K&N may seem pricey, you'll never have to buy another one ever again.

These cone filters make a bigger difference on turbocharged engines for obvious reasons.

 

[Vette Boss]

Re: questions about aftermarket air intake

better airfilter = more air = more fuell needed = less mileage.
everyone i know who installed an aftermarket airfilter saw his mileage decrease by a little bit (the difference won't bancrupt you )

you got it wrong... better filter = more air = less gas required to fire. the more oxygen you have the better the detonation will be so there fore under normal driving you should notice an increase in fuel economy.

But the point is, you lose some torque with the new system, so you need to give it more throttle to accelerate. More throttle gives more gas and that will decrease the mileage.

The only way I can think of an improvement is cruising, when you're not accelerating at all.

 

[patrick10]

you wont lose torque with an intake, you lose it from a huge exhaust. you will not notice a difference in the lower revs. i have had 2 cars so far and have driven them both with and without an intake on them. i noticed a slight increase in fuel economy even though i beat on my cars. i noticed revs rised faster but the ass dyno cant notice anything.

 

[Leppy]

Ok...

I'm only gonna say this once.

An engine at low revs requires the air coming into the cylinders is required to be moving very quickly. This helps get more air into the engine using the momentum of the air.

At high revs, the flow of the air must be as unrestricted as possible so that the greatest amount of air is allowed into the engine.

This is why car manufactuers have been using variable length intakes. At long engine speeds, the intake is very long so that the air enters the engine in a fast laminar flow, and higher engine speeds the intake is shortened so that the maximum amount of air can enter the engine.

If you put a massive intake on a car that doesn't require one, you may lose low down power but also may see an increase in high end power because the large intake only accounts for the higher end situation.

 

[Roman]

Re: questions about aftermarket air intake

First off, I installed this K&N intake in my pt three weeks after buying it.

how does a high flow air intake effect gas mileage

Not much that I know of, good or bad. But I don't have a good base for comparison since I installed it shortly after purchase.

how come high flow air intakes like the ones made by K&N arent offerd from the factory

In the pt, I can tell you why and why I changed the stock intake. I wanted to hear the turbo. The stock airbox contained no less than three, yes three, "mufflers" to quiet down the intake noises. :? That and K&N's claim to 12 more hp made the choice to go to an aftermarket intake easy.

and how easy is it to install

Very ! Follow the link and click "Installation instructions" to view them. You'll also see a bunch of pics including before and after.
Step 10 was the toughest. Took me like ten minutes to get it to sit around the bends properly.

if you have installed them how much has the air intake improved the Performance of your vehicle

Since the claim was 12hp I was under the impression I would feel a difference but I really don't, good or bad. Their claim though is backed by a dyno sheet and some of the details are interesting. Pull was made in second gear which I think is unusual and got my attention. Also on a dyno I wonder if they made the pull with the hood open, which would make a huge difference in the availability of fresh air around the open filter.
But then again yesterday I went to the drag strip and pulled a 15.207 ET and with a 3,300 lbs vehicle that translates to more than 215hp at the crank (that I am being told, I don't know how to do the math) so may be it does help and make 12 more horsepower. That 4 banger is one strong engine.


Anyway, performance increase or not (as long as it didn't go down) I the results if only for the sound it makes.